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Truth be told, I’ve never seen or heard of a Nigerian who is a Vegetarian-and that is the problem with Nigeria. I can see you rolling your eyes like,”Yeah right, we all know the problem with Nigeria but we never can pick the way to solve it.”

Anyway, being a vegetarian requires a level of discipline beyond the capabilities of the average Nigerian. Y’know it can be heart-breaking seeing all that Sallah beef disappearing during Eid, then the chicken and turkey too goes at Christmas, Easter and New Year and you don’t even get a taste.

What’s worse, you’ll have to pretend like it doesn’t smell good. Then how do you explain to guests at your occasions that you don’t eat meat. For God’s sake, you’ll find yourself visiting Synagogue Church for healing and deliverance.

On average, vegetarians consume a lower proportion of calories from fats(particularly saturated fatty acids), fewer overall calories, more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, than do non-vegetarians. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index. These characteristics and other lifestyle factors associated with a vegetarian diet may contribute to the positive health outcomes that have been identified among vegetarians.

The health benefits being highlighted thus, I’ll give another important reason -economic reasons. Cost of beef and cost of poultry products keep increasing due to increasing cost of transporting the animals from the highly-violent North where they are being bred. Also, cost of cooking meat to a medically recommended hygienic level has also increased as cooking gas prices keep increasing from 2000Naira to 2500Naira(12.5Kg standard) in the last 10 months and prices are expected to hit a 36-month high of 2800Naira in december 2014. I’ve personally noticed that eating meat is becoming more stressful for my teeth and I’m just in my 20s-no medical conditions attached.

Anyway, some animals whose meats we eat are prime carriers of such things like Tapeworm and Ebola Virus (yeah, I know you just got scared, right). Scientists
have found that a bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV), the
equivalent of the AIDS virus in cows, can
also infect human cells. It is supposed that BIV may have a role in the
development of a number of malignant or slow viruses in humans. If we consider the above stated facts that Nigerians are getting more economical in cooking meat(I’m a witness to that) in the face of the looming truths. The worst fear isn’t so far.

However, it’s not all bad news. You can still choose to eat eggs, honey and milk and fish but you’ll be called an ovo-lacto-pescetarian. Don’t worry, that’s still a type of vegetarian.

The Roman writer Ovid concluded his book titled Metamorphoses, in part, with the argument that in order for humanity to change, or metamorphose, into a better, more harmonious species, it must strive towards more humane tendencies. He cited vegetarianism as the crucial decision in this metamorphosis, explaining his belief that human life and animal life are so entwined that to kill an animal is virtually the same as killing a fellow human. Does this not resonate with the fact that North-Eastern Nigeria, where killing livestock for food is a major occupation is also the place where killing humans for fun(#BokoHaram) is also prevalent.

It’s just the right time to start embracing healthier diets and better living. I believe having more vegetarians in Nigeria will put an end to insurgency. I’ve decided to take the lead but not because I’m afraid of animals revolting. I’m just tired of chewing meat for hours. Aren’t you?

This is a concrete moulded sculpture made by a student of Industrial Design department. It’s a dominant figure at the heart of ABU’s sculpture garden. The sculpture garden is a large expanse of land, filled with paintings and sculptures. It’s various sculptures amuse individuals as admirable works of art and imagination but also visible to the more critically minded are the marks of Nigeria’s socio-political landscape as imagined in the sculptors’ minds. This particular sculpture is called Selective Justice.

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This picture shows the Ahmadu Bello University Senate building. The tallest building in the University environment. It houses the Vice-Chancellor’s office at the 7th Floor, the Information and Communications Technology Unit in the 3rd Floor and a host of other notable offices involved in the general running of the University.

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The ABU fountain is the first beautiful edifice you encounter after the gate. It sits at the largest road intersection within the University. It’s colourful lighting of red, green and blue lights creates a scenic wonder for every first timer who visits after dusk.

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In the last 100-150 years, there has been a great increase in the call for ‘the liberation of ‘ and so the ‘Women’s Liberation Movement’ came to being. Women got voting rights and the rights to work in factories came in World War II. Posters like this became popular and I heard it motivated the men on the frontlines to win the war in 1945.

Which man wouldn’t be motivated by this, anyway.

Candidly, I’m impressed and happy with how far the world has come from the days of burning women at the stake for trumped up charges of witchcraft. Simply, I think the world rulers at the time were simply afraid of the influence women secretly wield over men. Another theory I heard says that the Catholic church at the time carried out ”the witch hunt” out of fear that there was a woman who existed and was alive and carried a blood that could be traced to Jesus Christ, thereby undermining the power in the Son of God. Check Dan Brown’s novel, ”The DaVinci Code” for deeper theory but keep in mind that it’s a work of art and bears the imaginative thinking of Dan Brown and maybe some conspiracy theorists.

Back to my main topic, the title women’s liberation has gradually given way to a new word ”feminism”. Many celebrities are feminists and the word has become trendy. Twerking Technology Graduate, Miley Cyrus is a feminist (always remember that) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has encouraged everyone to be feminists and Beyonce Knowles is a feminist and many other names, many of them good people but a friend once said, ”I think women have been liberated and we’ve graduated to the era of feminism, where every thing masculine is evil and all things feminine are good”. It does make some sense to me.

Some weeks ago I read a report that stated that Chimamanda refused to be recognized by her husband’s surname because she is a feminist. It’s really not my business, it’s her family’s business. I don’t believe in enslaving women to men too. Many of my newly-married female friends also don’t completely drop their maiden names, we hear stuff like Mimi Toye-Akintoye (because she is a feminist) but sometimes, maybe sometimes I think if we go back to Bible days, there were some really radical women who were really ”liberated” and ”independent” in the real sense of the words but it made them better wives to their husbands. My person of focus is Jezebel, arguably the epitome of all-time wickedness but I also think she was arguably the best wife in the bible. Read this:

KJV-R (Webster) 1 Kings 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

KJV-R (Webster) 1 Kings 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

It’s clear Jezebel never tolerated any body making her husband unhappy and it wasn’t for her personal interests as shown in the story of Naboth’s vineyard. She wasn’t interested in the vineyard but Ahab was unhappy that he couldn’t own the vineyard and that made Jezebel concerned. Many feminists today wouldn’t even notice if there husbands came home unhappy. Twice in the Bible, Ahab sulked, Jezebel noticed and she acted. I always imagine many wives today will shrug and say, ”well, it’s a business between you and your clients, handle it”.

Also, in 1 Kings 21:1-9, the Bible consistently referred to Jezebel as ‘‘the wife of Ahab”, only later did we realize that Ahab had over 70 children from other people he was married to and there is no record of a child from Jezebel(as much as I read). Jezebel obviously made it clear that she was ”the wife of Ahab”, kids or no kids. Many of our feminist’s today wouldn’t even know when their husband is being led astray by other women. He can cater for himself anyway.

Ahab was a King and he was supposed to turn his heart and pray to God whenever he had problems but he never did and the Bible records that Jezebel stole his heart to other gods. Imagine! How many feminists can even steal their husbands hearts away from even the most boring football games. Yet when the time comes, they’ll like to have ”equal rights” and multiply the family name by two (because they are feminists).

My point is women are doing themselves a lot of disfavour trying to be feminists. You’ll probably get the attention but you’ll lose influence where you need it the most. Being feminine is a gift and being masculine is a gift, don’t leave your cake and try to eat another person’s. Rather use the gift you have the absolute best way you can. Be a woman and be proud that world governments will cringe at your unsung influence. Don’t try to diminish another’s ”obviously open” influence, it only shows you’ve been psychologically defeated. I wouldn’t want my daughter to be a feminist by Miley’s definition though.